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Roosevelt Searles
Roosevelt Searles is running for Atlanta Mayor.
Political background
Roosevelt Searles said about himself, "I'm a person, NOT a politician."
Professional background
Roosevelt describes himself as a serial entrepreneur, author, business coach, and philanthropist.
Personal background
Roosevelt said about his personal background, "I've been homeless, had to ask for money and even had people whom I thought had my back turn against me. I've shoveled feces, flipped burgers, cleaned toilets and still, I've probably been fired more times than I can count! Now I'm running multiple businesses, employing my peers, and giving back to my community."
ON THE ISSUES
CAMPAIGN FINANCE
Public Services
- Wants to limit the number of dollar stores allowed within a certain radius.
- Plans to create a city-run market, "The People's Market," which would be sold after one to two years to graduates of the entrepreneurship school he plans to open.
- Wants to create a city-run amusement part called the "Lit Zone."
- Plans to look into creating a citywide curfew for minors under the age of 16.
- Promises to fix all public roads and fill all potholes within four years.
Sources:
Candidate website
TOP PRIORITY
COVID
- Wants to open a city-run hospital that offers serves for half to no cost for homeless and "strict low-income situations."
- Plans to "restrict & suspend city health mandates." He said, "The People should get to choose."
- Said, "[w]e have to look at all available treatments for COVID-19 past what the CDC and FDA are offering us currently. There are many countries using better treatments and are receiving much better results."
- Wants there to be a study "on the psychological effects of children wearing a mask for over 7 hours per day, social distancing from friends, extensive isolation and prolonged virtual learning."
City Budget
- Promises to require a financial report from each city department within five weeks of taking office.
- Wants to create a millennial entrepreneurship fund to give people ages 13-35 grants of $1,000 to $10,000.
- Plans to restructure city fines, revisit city taxes and deregulate businesses.
- Wants to make "that the current spending being done is appropriate and legal."
- Said, "I have just finished a careful review of the Budget for 2022 and I am disgusted. We have millions of dollars being spent in areas that need absolutely not a penny more."
TOP PRIORITY
Housing & Urban Development
- Wants to run a "paramilitary style boot camp" for homeless residents, with rehabilitation, job skills, entrepreneurship training and "pathway finding."
- Plans to use 750 acres of land for city-run affordable housing with an option to rent to own the units.
- Wants to impose and enforce city fines for "over run trash and various resident complaints."
- Plans to revitalize city-owned properties.
- Said, "[u]sing executive powers under the emergency act, I will authorize my administration to find all legal avenues of creating immediate housing options via modular construction using land already owned by the city."
TOP PRIORITY
Public Safety
- Wants to create "The People's Patrol," Which would be 1,000+ citizens, including veterans, social workers and non-violent offenders required to work on the patrol for a certain number of hours as their sentence.
- Plans to do "gun sweeps" every day to find illegal weapons.
- Wants to create the Atlanta Drone and Aviation Department and use 50 to 100 city-owned drones to do surveillance.
- Plans to relocate habitual violent offenders by housing them in a long-term rehabilitation facility outside of city limits and thinks that non-violent offenders should not be subjected to jail time.
- Wants to legalize marijuana within city limits.
- Said his priority is "[p]overty, crime and overall unification of our people and police force."
Zoning
- Wants to investigate how [Neighborhood Planning Units (NPUs)] and city council make decisions on coning and planning in the city.
- Said, "[r]ight now zoning is being done with the interest of big companies in mind ... This is not about politics. This is about greed."
Corruption
- Wants to create "The People's Media" to provide daily news coverage, weekly forums and monthly town halls "where all residents are invited to Dine and Q & A with The Make Atlanta Safe Again City Council."
- Plans to do a full audit and investigation into every department of the city government, and "any officials suspected of misuse of public funds will be subject to immediate termination and prosecution by local and federal government."
